Although there have been dramatic improvements in our understanding of the basic biology of cancer during the past fifteen years, these advances have not translated into corresponding improvements in the treatment of patients with malignant disease. It is generally agreed that a greater degree of interaction between basic and clinical scientists will speed the translation of basic science discoveries to improved solution of clinical problems. The UAB Clinical Investigator Training Program (CITP) is a five year training program which will develop clinical scientists who will be able to serve as an interface between basic scientists and clinical investigators as new therapeutic modalities become available. These individuals will be trained to design and execute clinical studies which test basic science based hypotheses. We anticipate that these investigators will be able to "bridge the gap" between basic and clinical scientists. This program will identify individuals who have expressed a strong interest in a career in clinical investigation, give them intensive training in basic science based clinical research, and provide the resources to support their transition from trainee to independent investigator. This type of broad based training will provide clinical investigators who will be uniquely able to share the perspective of clinical research and basic science. We hope that this multidisciplinary program will stimulate interactions between basic and clinical scientists and will result in meaningful ongoing collaborations. The CITP represents a joint effort between the clinical scientists and the basic scientists within the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center. We feel that the graduates of the CITP will be able to identify important clinical problems for investigation in the laboratory, and will be able to assist the basic scientists in identifying clinically relevant hypotheses and areas of investigation. At the same time, they will be able to identify basic science techniques and assays which may be of use in clinical trials. These individuals will be in a unique position to develop new and better treatments for malignant diseases.